Jim Wells, a photographer who worked for the Associated Press and Time and Life magazines, died May 11 at Howard University Hospital. He was 71.
He had a heart attack, said his wife, Linda Wells.
Jim Wells, photographer
Mr. Wells served as a photographer in the Air Force before becoming a photographer for Time and Life in Washington during the late 1960s. He covered the riots in the District after the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. For National Geographic magazine, Mr. Wells traveled to Africa, taking photos of political leaders.
From 1970 to 1973, he served on the New York staff of the Associated Press. Afterward, he returned to Washington and opened his own photography company, serving clients that included Coca-Cola, AT&T, Sony and Congressional Quarterly. He taught classes on photography at the University of the District of Columbia from 1984 to 2009.
James Lesesne Wells Jr. was born in the District. His father was a Modernist artist.
His memberships included the White House News Photographers Association.
His marriages to Mona Howard and Sandra Walker ended in divorce. A daughter from his first marriage, Patricia Wells, died in 2010.
Survivors include his wife of 18 years, Linda Grant Wells of the District; a daughter from his first marriage, Leslie Wells of Largo; a son from his second marriage, James L. Wells III of Woodbridge; a stepdaughter, Natalie Clay of Indianapolis; and six grandchildren.
— T. Rees Shapiro
